Standardisation is key to the success of adoption of new techniques and processes. If houses were not wired with copper wires providing power of a standard voltage through a predefined power outlet, Edison would not have been famous for his successful introduction of light bulbs. However, national or regional standards have been developed for power outlets and voltage but nobody is trying to get the responsible parties together to globally harmonise the voltage and power outlets. These kind of obvious standards have become a commodity and when travelling abroad, everybody uses adaptors that make the connection between regional power outlets and voltages.

How come that in the age of modern technology and quick communication we are still aiming at global standards? Should we be less dogmatic about global standards? Should we focus more on adaptors? Or electronic and automated adaptors that allow transfer of information from sender to recipient and vice versa? This is not limited to industry-to-agency transfer, but is also applicable to transfers between CROs and sponsor and between various applications within a company, such as, but not limited to, SAP, eDMS, eTMF, eSubmission, RIM, LIMS, SPL, electronic health records, electronic data capture and electronic forms.

Come and learn about the benefits and constraints associated with the various topic-related processes and contribute to answering the question whether standardisation is a blessing or a curse.